Baby on Chlorpromazine

Anyone ever had their kitty on Chlorpromazine? Our vet has just started Baby on it for his nausea/vomiting associated with his IBD or alimentary lymphosarcoma (not sure which b/c can't do biopsy b/c of his old age). Reglan just messed him up too much - restlessness, goofiness. Chlorpromazine seems to knock him out, even a quarter pill. Someone has mentioned giving their kitty 1/4 pill Pepcid before to control nausea, but not sure if they were using "human" over the counter Pepcid???

Thanks!
Denise & Baby

hi there,

i'm no vet and i don't know baby....but what i do know, is that the med you are giving baby right now, is the generic name for thorazine- an antipsychotic med for people. --don't freak- i know some people use it for severe nausea...but for an older kitty- it does sound like a bit much. it will definately sedate him.

i guess i would try the vet again and ask him for something less sedating- quality of life, i'm sure is important to you both as well.

best of luck to you and baby,
ozzlou

When my RB Goldie was going through her cancer stuff, the vet gave her Tagamet - not sure if it was the human variety or not. Gave her 1/4 tablet 2x a day. It's a tough time -- prayers are with you.

It's definitely been a long night. It's 3AM and I've been up with Baby most the night after finally making sure we actually got the pill down this time. Thought I had started Baby on his new med two nights ago but found the 1/4 pill laying on the bed last night. I had done some research online about the human form of the drug and knew about it being used for migraines and as an antipsychotic. Poor Baby, it's messed him up more than the Reglan ever did. His eyes got huge and that icky third lid was coming across in both eyes and I could tell he was miserable. The pacing started almost immediately as did the staggering when he walked. Definitely not giving him this again - rather he puke two to three times a day then deal with this med. Will call the vet in the AM to see about anything else he could possibly take. He's got to take something because all he's had to eat in the last week is tuna juice and less than a tablespoon of A/D, which he's loved before. Probably start syringe feeding him again this weekend. We are giving him IV fluids to keep him hydrated and hopefully encourage him to eat again. Looks like we may be having to accept the fact that Baby is on his way out of this world, but we're giving him all the chances we can to stay a little longer. We just want him to have the quality of life he deserves.

Denise

Is baby an older cat? It could be that his kidneys are failing. My Tubby is 17 now, and 2 years ago I took him to the vet because he was throwing up all the time - at least once a day. They did a blood test on him and determined that he was in the beginning stages of kidney failure. Have your vet check for this - now! Tubby has been taking 1/4 of a pepcid now for the last two years, and he's doing great. Do some checks online for renal failure. There is the chronic form - which Tubby has - and the acute form - which is sudden and often deadly. Sounds like Baby might have the chronic form which can be treated! Please have your vet check for this if he hasn't already. It would really be too bad if Baby was sent to the RB before his time.

Please keep us updated - and I'm so sorry the Chlorpormazine messed him up so bad. Also. Noahsmommy (here on PT) has Micah who has IBD so you could try PM'ing or emailing her if that's truly what Baby has.

It's pretty common for vets to prescribe a quarter of a (human dose) Pepcid for cats with kidney trouble. Did you know Drs. prescribe it for people as well? Sometimes they give Tagamet, but not as much anymore now that Pepcid is over the counter.

I hope Baby feels better.

I talked to the vet this afternoon and he said to go ahead and try the Tagamet or Pepcid; we're just gradually working through the possible meds he can take to resolve his nausea & not eating; his concern is the way Baby has reacted to his other meds, he'll probably have the same problem, but it's definitely worth a try. And yes he is in beginning stages of kidney failure - showed up in blood work when he was "diagnosed" with IBD / lymphosarcoma but was told it was very minor compared to the other problems Baby was having at the time. Both have very similar symptoms but can't do the biopsy for the sarcoma because very invasive and too stressful for a 15 year old kitty.

Thank you for the support and I'll grab some Tagamet and Pepcid this weekend and see how he does with those (1/4 pill twice a day - just what Baby wants is to take more pills). Now we're going to take a nap to catch up on the much needed sleep we missed last night.

Denise

Oh Denise, I'm so glad you asked about the Pepcid and your vet agreed it was worth a try.

My vet said the main reason for the pepcid with kidney failure is it helps blood flow to the kidneys, making them work better, which helps with the nausea. But it also stops the stomach from making acid, which is also partly to blame for giving them the upset stomach which causes them to throw up. So the pepcid really does double duty. She said there haven't been enough official tests for this to be publicized and widely known in the vet world, but I'm so glad she knew about it because Tubby has been doing fantastic ever since I started him on it.

Good luck to Baby. Hopefully this will help some so Baby can be with you for years to come. Get some much needed rest now, but please let us know how he's doing after a few days worth of Pepcid/Tagamet treatment. I'm betting he feels a whole lot better. :)